DIY Craft: Make a Kite out of Recycled Materials!

Published March 26, 2013

The Blossom Kite Festival is an annual event that takes place during the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., where kite fliers can show off their skills and compete for awards, while spectators get to watch the beautiful kites fill the air. This year’s Blossom Kite Festival will be held on March 30th and National Aquarium, Washington, DC have a booth on the National Mall where visitors can make their own aquatic-themed windsocks out of recycled materials!

If you can’t join the festivities in D.C., you can still participate with this kid-friendly craft! Here’s how you can make your very own “green” kite, using recycled and household materials:

Materials:

Plastic grocery bag

String

Any thin sticks

Tape

Scissors

Marker

Popsicle stick

Ruler or other straight edge

Instructions:

Make the frame of your recycled kite by laying the sticks on top of each other to form a cross, then securing them by winding some string around the intersection of the sticks. Make sure the string is wrapped in a criss-cross diagonal pattern so the sticks remain in place.

Next, cut the grocery bag on one side and across the bottom, and lay it out flat. Place the sticks on the grocery bag. Using your marker and straight edge, draw lines on the grocery bag connecting the corners of the sticks to make a template for your kite. When you are finished with this step you should have drawn a full square on the grocery bag.

Take your scissors and cut along the guidelines you just drew. Then, tape the grocery bag to the sticks at each corner. If your square is big enough, you can fold the corners slightly over the sticks and tape it that way for extra strength.

If you have any scraps from your grocery bag, cut them into streamers of various lengths, and attach them to the tail of your kite with tape.

Finally, tie the string around the intersecting sticks and make several secure knots. Unspool several feet of string, then tie the other end of the string to the middle of the popsicle stick to create the line for the kite.

Don't forget to join us out on the National Mall this weekend for the Blossom Kite Festival!